Reason Why OBS Lag When Playing Game & 7 Best Solutions

When streaming using OBS, you may encounter OBS lag when playing games. Imagine you are in a high-energy match, and then it starts to stutter, which ruins your gameplay and the viewership experience of others. Lagging and frame drops are normal things that happen, and because of that, a solution must be unveiled today so you can fix the problem if it happens and before it happens. You need to keep reading this article to learn how to solve this problem.

Part 1: Why Is OBS Lagging When Recording

This OBS lag can be attributed to the platforms' physical components and configuration settings. Most apparent is that most of the time, the CPU or GPU needs to be more powerful to run the game and encode video at sufficient quality. The important point is that OBS is a CPU-intensive and GPU-hungry software; if your computer maxes out the CPU, performance issues take little time to come to life. Another common problem many individuals often need help with is fidgeting with the OBS settings, density, bit rate, resolution, or frame per second, which adds more burden to your device.

Moreover, outdated drivers, a low amount of RAM, and the need for proper hardware acceleration can all exacerbate the problem that has been mentioned above. In addition, if you are streaming online, the network congestion can affect OBS differently than every other application. The OBS setting will adjust depending on what system can handle, and ensuring your equipment is well-updated could make all the difference in keeping the lag down during recording.

Part 2: 7 Ways to Fix OBS Lagging - Official Ways to Solve the Problem

Following these steps, you can overcome most of the reasons why OBS is lagging and provide your audience with a satisfying recording or streaming session. One setting addresses specific aspects of your configuration, so effectively combining a few solutions will help determine the optimal settings for your equipment and streaming.

1. Lower Bitrate and Resolution:

Using high bitrate and resolution consumes much processing power, particularly when you want to stream it at 1080 or 4K. If you have a weak system, you may find that OBS recording lag, which will be a problem during presentation. If the problem is caused by demanding computing requirements, lowering the bit rate can help relieve computational stress. Changing the video resolution to 720p or 1080p at a lesser specification will permit smooth gameplay without significant loss in video quality. Another important factor is bitrate if you are streaming on Twitch or YouTube because it impacts both the upload and streaming speeds.

2. Enable Hardware Encoding:

There's a General Settings tab on the right, with a button that says Use Hardware Encoder – this is good if you have a dedicated GPU because this lets you switch from Software Encoding, which utilizes the CPU, to Hardware Encoding, which uses the GPU. NVIDIA GPUs can be set for NVENC encoding to offer fast encoding solutions while having little impact on the performance. Similarly, vaccination and maturation device cards support VCE, while Intel processors integrated with the visuals enable quick synchronization. Letting your GPU handle the encoding means that your CPU has to do a lot less work, which is good news for games and applications that already have a demanding processor. Go to OBS's output settings to determine the encoding that applies to your hardware.

3. Optimize Video Settings:

As with most other applications, elements within OBS, such as the frame rate and video quality of the video, will affect performance dramatically; the same applies to the game. Frames per second is a good measure where, for instance, recording at 60 FPS will be more tasking than at 30 FPS. If it's still causing performance issues, try setting OBS to 30 FPS; it will not look choppy to most of the audience. Combining it with simple settings, such as low shadow quality, low reflection settings, and low anti-aliasing, can also work. Many games today come with performance modes with the goal of throttling CPU and GPU usage, which, when toggled on, can make OBS recording lagging run better while streaming.

4. Update Graphics Drivers:

You run OBS with low graphic card drivers, which always causes compatibility problems, slowness, and latency. OBS is a broadcasting tool, and graphics cards such as NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel often launch driver updates to improve performance and solve some issues, including OBS. As for the specific software, it is possible to frequently visit the manufacturer's page and check for updates since the drivers' updating can enhance the system's cooperation with OBS. Some driver updates also contain certain optimizations by default for some popular games to allow you to maintain smooth streaming or recording.

5. Close Unnecessary Applications:

The background applications, especially those that consume CPU and RAM, are very detrimental to your system, so OBS lags while recording. Games, web browsers, chat applications, video editing software, and anti-virus programs running in the background get in the way of the processing power that OBS could use. Before recording or streaming, determine which applications are running and minimize or shut them down. Use a task manager to see which processes are eating up a lot of resources. This indicates that OBS staffing may also get a boost if certain add-ons are turned off in the browser, the use of tabs is minimized, or other applications are placed as a low priority.

6. Allocate More RAM:

OBS recommends using enough RAM to produce recordings or streams without delays. If your system has a low amount of RAM, it would be wise to increase it, particularly if you plan to record in high definition or use overlays. The other method is to boost your system's virtual memory, which could function like RAM in your company. This can be done on Windows by selecting System Properties, Advanced system settings and setting a higher virtual memory size. You could add more RAM or improve virtual memory settings, giving OBS and your games more of what they need to reduce lagging. In the same way, you can fix the OBS window capture black when it is happening while you use it.

7. Limit Network Usage for Streaming:

If you're streaming live, OBS uses your network, and if there is any delay in your network, you will lose some frames, directly impacting your stream's quality; one should refrain from using a wireless connection as it is not as stable as a wire connection. This is why you should exclude all other devices from the network, especially when casting. Also, do not stream in high definition, HD, which will demand a broad bandwidth to provide the excellent stream you need. Most streaming services suggest keeping the resolution at 720p or 1080p at lower bit rates to prevent streaming from being interrupted by buffer icons or lags.

Part 3: The Best OBS Alternative to Record Game Without Lagging

Does OBS lagging while recording keep happening even after you fix it? AVAide Screen Recorder is designed for users to optimize performance during screen recording and offers a setting specifically for gaming. Like OBS, it supports high fps and offers hardware encoding to give the best recording experience and smooth gameplay without putting your CPU into too much work. Plus, it has an intuitive interface, making it easier for users to manage their recording needs. And you can download it now for free.

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By Jane Pineda on May 15, 2025